Fourteen agreements were signed during the ongoing visit to China by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President To Lam, his first overseas trip since being Party chief earlier this month.

Vietnamese and Chinese officials sign agreements in the presence of General Secretary and President To Lam (L) and General Secretary and President Xi Jinping. Photo: Nguyen Hong/Baoquocte

The two neighboring countries, Vietnam and China, signed cooperation documents on August 19 shortly after the talks between General Secretary and President To Lam and General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping.

The signed documents are:

1. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) and the National Academy of Governance

2. An MOU on industrial cooperation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) and China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

3. An MOU on healthcare cooperation between the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Vietnam and the National Health Commission of China

4. An MOU on enhancing cooperation and information exchange in banking operations between the State Bank of Vietnam and the People’s Bank of China

5. An MOU between the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) on promoting social and livelihood projects

6. A protocol on plant quarantine for Vietnamese fresh coconut exported to China signed between Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Chinese General Administration of Customs

7. A protocol on health quarantine for crocodiles bred in Vietnam and exported to China between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Administration of Customs

8. A protocol on plant quarantine and food safety for frozen durian exported to China between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the General Administration of Customs of China

9. A certificate of handing over the results of the project to assist Vietnam in the planning of the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Haiphong standard gauge railways signed between the two governments.

10. An official letter between Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport and the CIDCA on the feasibility study of the technical aid project for planning two standard gauge railway lines: Lang Son – Hanoi and Mong Cai – Ha Long – Hanoi

11. An agreement on cooperation between the Vietnam News Agency and Xinhua News Agency

12. An MOU on strengthening cooperation between the Vietnam Television and the China Central Radio and Television

13. An MOU on cooperation in traditional medicine between the Ministry of Health and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine

14. An MOU on press and media exchange program for 2024-2029 between the Vietnam Journalists’ Association and the All-China Journalists Association (ACJA).

Especially, two agreements were announced at the signing ceremony were the MOUs on economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and China’s Hainan and Shandong provinces.

The two leaders and their wives were at the meeting in Beijing on August 19. Photo: Nguyen Hong/Baoquocte

Forging Vietnam-China relations

Relations between Vietnam and China have been on the rise after more than 30 years of normalization, especially in the 15 years since the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership in 2008.

During the three-day visit to China starting from August 18, General Secretary and President To Lam met with Chinese top leaders, including General Secretary and President Xi Jinping, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Wang Huning, and other senior officials.

General Secretary and President To Lam and General Secretary and President Xi Jinping in a talk. Photo: Nguyen Hong/Baoquocte

The top-level talks focused on measures to strengthen relations between the two parties and the states, while promoting people-to-people links. In addition, the meetings largely addressed cooperation in various fields, mostly trade, and investment. China is Vietnam’s largest trading partner with the bilateral trade hit US$230 billion in 2023.  

At the meeting with To Lam, Xi Jinping said China has consistently prioritized Vietnam in its neighborhood diplomacy, supporting Vietnam’s adherence to the Party’s leadership, adoption of the socialist path appropriate to its circumstances, and advancement of renovation and socialist modernization. Xi also emphasized that he has developed a close friendship and positive working relationship with Lam.

Lam, meanwhile, described his visit to China as an affirmation by the Party and the Vietnamese government of the importance of the bilateral ties and stated that China is Vietnam’s top foreign policy priority.

General Secretary and President To Lam and Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Photo: Van Hieu

At the meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, To Lam welcomed China’s involvement in three planned standard railway lines linking Vietnam and China, as well as cooperation on the Vientiane-Vung Ang railway and urban railways in Hanoi.

Lam’s first stop during the visit was Guangzhou, Guangdong which borders Vietnam, where President Ho Chi Minh led revolutionary activities. The two sides stressed the importance of nurturing the Vietnam-China long-lasting youth relationship and boosting people-to-people exchanges.